Rolling Without A Pin

I was presented with a bit of a baking challenge this weekend. I sort of felt as if I was a participant on Iron Chef or maybe some prime time reality TV show, in which the purpose of the challenge is to create something using only the materials you can find around the house. Well, that might be a bad analogy (the analogy gene doesn't run in my family), but you get the gist...

Anyway, so I was doing a little cookie baking at a friend's house this weekend, and although I brought most of my own tools and ingredients, I found that a few basic baking tools were missing and I was presented with a baking challenge. So the twist on this baking adventure was that I needed to make my decorative sugar cookies without a rolling pin. Was this a catastrophe? Not really. An inconvenience? Absolutely. An impossibility? Never. This culinary genius found a way to roll out my sugar cookie dough and my fondant without a rolling pin.

A full-size bottle of Ultimate Margarita Mix is the perfect alternative to a rolling pin for sugar cookie dough. When looking for rolling pin alternatives, think about what it is you are rolling out. Does it require an even thickness? Does the surface need to be smooth? If your answer to the above questions is yes; then I suggest looking for a bottle (or cylinder-shaped object) that is smooth and evenly shaped. A bottle of cognac, for example, would be a bad choice. A Grey Goose bottle would be ideal, but if your fear is damaging or dropping an expensive bottle of vodka, I would suggest using a cheap bottle of margarita mix. You may need to put a little flour on the bottle so it doesn't stick to your dough if the bottle is already a bit sticky from the margarita mix.

Rolling out my sugar cookie dough with a bottle of Ultimate Margarita Mix was no problemo. A bottle of Ultimate Margarita Mix, conversely, is not ideal for rolling out fondant. Fondant can be incredibly sticky and you really do need a very dry and smooth round object for ideal rolling. I was unable to find a decent alternative to a rolling pin for fondant, so I was forced to flatten my fondant with the palm of my hand. Was this ideal? No. Was it successful? Somewhat. Was the fondant aesthetically pleasing after I flattened it with the palm of my hand? Not at all. My fondant, although flat, had fingerprints all over it and was a bit bumpy. Fortunately, this didn't compromise the taste of my cookies!

So what is the moral of this story? Well, there are two….margarita drinkers are probably good bakers and, two, never leave home without your rolling pin! I have attached some pictures of the decorative cookies! This baking experience was a lot of fun and I loved the challenge!

Until next time…